I am D.O.N. at a Long Term Care Facility in Iowa. I am interested in making acquaintances with other D.O.N.'s in similar positions. I have a variety of issues I'd like to share and converse with you about. I have many good ideas - some tried and worked, others tried and not worked - and would love to hear some of your ideas. The LTC industry is changing rapidly, and nurses in our positions are growing evermore accountable and responsible for just about everything entailed in the LTC arena nowadays. Furthermore, I find the Quality Indicators Reports very useful and beneficial in providing more direct focus to our Quality Assurance team/activities.
If anyone is interested in sharing thoughts and/or ideas, please respond. My email address: [email protected]
I am not sure how to respond to your post. Please tell me, are you making fun of DONs? Are you trying to prove a point? I will admit that your post made me a little angry.
I am a DOBN and I work very hard to help and be there for my staff. I think that you must understand that budget cuts and low pay are not the DONs fault. I think that you need to look at the government. Look at what your government reimburses for a person to stay in a nursing home. At times we are forced to care for residents that we recieve lower reimbursment than it takes to care for them. At times, our resdients cost us money to care for...because of your goverment. As a DON, I do have to follow a budget, however I do not set the budget..I am just responsible for sticking to it.
I am a DON because I love LTC. I love taking care of the people at the facility. Sometimes it is a very difficult job with absolutely no thank you's. But still there are nurses out there willing to do it. I think that we should thank these people for being a DON.
Sorry Belinda, I do not blame you for being mad, I sort of stuck my nose in a conversation meant for DONs and not me. Absolutely you are not to blame for the current shortage of health care workers. The problems is totally the fault of the politicians who speak of cracking on down on neglect and abuse while at the same time cutting funding. I want you to know that I have notifed my state and federal representives with mail and email about the situation and I have just this week been at the local office my state representive. Good luck and best wishes PS Out in the real world I sometimes hear an interesting conversation not meant for me and stick my two cents in, it does not alway go over well, you are not the first one to get angry.
[This message has been edited by oramar (edited July 25, 2000).]
Just curious, why don't you use students from nearby nursing schools to help you with your workload??
While this is a good idea and we use it , it requires a lot of education and supervision- after all you are responsible for this students work. It usually isn;t worth it in the end. Rarely we get someone that gives back after all the time we put into her. Just something to think about.
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oramar
5,758 Posts
Sorry Belinda, I do not blame you for being mad, I sort of stuck my nose in a conversation meant for DONs and not me. Absolutely you are not to blame for the current shortage of health care workers. The problems is totally the fault of the politicians who speak of cracking on down on neglect and abuse while at the same time cutting funding. I want you to know that I have notifed my state and federal representives with mail and email about the situation and I have just this week been at the local office my state representive. Good luck and best wishes PS Out in the real world I sometimes hear an interesting conversation not meant for me and stick my two cents in, it does not alway go over well, you are not the first one to get angry.[This message has been edited by oramar (edited July 25, 2000).]